We have had lots of reasons, all of which we have previously debunked, (including the priest shortage lie,*) thrown at us as rationale for the merger/closer of our church. One of them is that, at approximately 250 families, we have no right to exist because we are simply too small a parish to justify.

Partly because my (Julie's) husband is not Catholic, my [largely evangelical protestant] workplace, extended family, and other acquaintances, we happen to know a lot of non-Catholic Christians. We also happen to have fairly frequent houseguests from all over the country because my husband's denomination is so small and geographically disparate, they often travel just to get together or for meetings. Currently we have a twenty-something couple, recently married, staying with us. They are both originally from the midwest but they are currently living in Washington, D.C. They both grew up in protestant churches, she the daughter of a pastor.

When the subject of, "and where do you attend?" comes up, the church closure fiasco inevitably arises. In the past our "priest convener" has said something to the effect of, "what must the protestants think of your not going along with your bishop?" It has always struck me as strange that anyone would think that protestants would not be sympathetic to our plight because they always seem to be. But why are they sympathetic?

Based on my conversations, I would some it up with a couple of pretty simple reasons, really. One, they understand that right is right and wrong is wrong, no matter who happens to espouse the view. Second, in their enthusiasm for growing the church, they understand that closing a church flies in the face of the propagation of the Gospel. Next, they understand that corruption causes more corruption and that it is all too common in all Christian circles for the everyday people in the pew to suffer as a result. But most of all, they are baffled by the following, which is far less abstract, and usually elicit a reply to this effect:

"Two hundred fifty families? That is considered small?" Apparently, by just about any protestant denomination's standards, a congregation anywhere near this size would be considered a great success. Last night was not the first time I have witnessed this reaction. Almost every single time the subject comes up, we are asked how large St. Mary's is. Our houseguest's (the daughter of the pastor) church back in Ohio has "no more than 200 people, probably less," and his in Kansas is even smaller. To have even fifty people in attendance over the course of a weekend would be just great to them. And if you buy into the priest shortage argument is legitimate, you should see the dearth of prospective pastors in their denomination, so this reaction is not due to their great abundance of ministerial candidates. And they should know. He (the one from Kansas) works for one of their denomination's few seminaries.

To top it all off, this apparent preference of so many priests and bishops for "bigger and better" flies in the face of contemporary trends, although they don't seem to recognize that. In their effort to be more protestant and less distinctively Catholic, they are missing the boat entirely. In this day and age of the house church movement, intentionally small Christian churches, and a movement away from the megachurch model, we are witnessng a yearning for the authentic on the part of younger generations in particular and the desire for true community. They also do not seem to be noticing the fact that there are many young protestants who are embracing distinctively Catholic practices without even knowing it,** while so many Catholic leaders seem to want to purge Catholicism of those annoying little things that they think separate us from the protestants.

Meanwhile, our protestant friends are mystified by the desire of someone charged with spreading the gospel to close a church, much less dozens of them. He (the one from Kansas) said, "That is terrible from an evangelism point of view." He took the words right out of my mouth. "Yeah," I said. "One thing I'm pretty sure of is that Christ did not say, "Go, therefore, and consolidate." They laughed and nodded. "My worry," I said, "is that what is currently happening is that so many people are so disgusted with the whole thing that they are leaving not just the Church, but any church, because they figure the gig is up and it's all a bunch of crap. Hundreds of souls will be lost." He nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's definitely true."

Over a card game last night they asked, "Where would you go?" because they understand how important and irreplaceable a tight knit community is. Without my having to explain anything, they already know that it is not so easy to just jump from one church to another, as if where one worshiped was completely unimportant. (After about a year, they themselves are still looking for a place to worship in the D.C. area and have started a small house church out of their home that meets monthly.) "I don't know what will happen," I answered. "But I do know this. We've got to fight with everything we've got."


* You can search our site for articles regarding the stats on priests per capita in our diocese over time, as well as information on the removal of priests by the dozen, their forcible retirement, and the refusal of the current diocesan administration to allow in priests from the FSSP (headed out of Nebraska but located throughout the country) or religious orders abroad.

** Search the internet if you want, but everything from the use of incense, candles, liturgy of the hours, lectio divina, "the new monasticism," and even praying the rosary are becoming wildly popular among many young, evangelical protestants (one of our houseguests included, to my great surprise...apparently he thinks some of these things are "Episcopalian" in origin).

Bishop Galante & Co. must really not like Salem County. The closure rate there is simply unbelievable. When all is said and done there will be almost nothing left of the Catholic Church in the entire county. In this article, we read that Bishop Guilfoyle School in Carneys Point will close in June. Parents who want to send their kids to Catholic school will have to travel to Gloucester County, Cumberland County, or go over the bridge to Delaware, but as we all know, school and church closures are occurring all around us at an unprecedented rate, so enrolling a child in a Catholic school anywhere holds no guarantees. Parents who choose to enroll their child in a nearby regional Catholic school will have a lot of hard thinking to do as to how much "change" they are willing to put their children through. Let's face it, most of these kids are likely to end up in public school, not another Catholic school.

Lingering questions about Catholic school closures & Catholic education:

• What has the Diocese done to ensure proper financial management of these schools?
• What has the Diocese done to help support and assign good administrators to these schools? 
• What has the Diocese done to help provide quality, uncompromising, Catholic education and challenging curricula?
• What has the Diocese done to encourage the influx of teaching religious orders to the Diocese? Why has the Diocese turned away orders that have offered to come here?
• What has the Diocese done to help re-think making Catholic education truly affordable to parents? (Even in the past sixteen years or so, the tuition at my Catholic high school has roughly tripled.)
  
• How has the Diocese provided support to the new generation of Catholic home educators, those who have been either priced out of Catholic education and dissatisfied with the quality of some Catholic schools?
• Has the Diocese actually spoken to families and teachers at these schools or has it just decided to abandon them, sight unseen?
  

Read article by clicking HERE.

Snip:

By Phil Dunn, pdunn@sjnewsco.com

CARNEYS POINT TWP. -- Bishop Guilfoyle Regional Catholic School here will close its doors at the end of this school year, bringing an end to Catholic school education in Salem County.

The imminent closure was announced to parents of students via an e-mail from the Georgetown Road school's principal.

The school, operated by the Diocese of Camden, joins a growing list of Catholic schools in South Jersey to be shuttered.

"Declining enrollment in our schools, rising deficits and heavy burdens on the sponsoring parishes," have been cited as reasons Bishop Guilfoyle will close, according to the letter parents received.

The letter says the population of the area the school serves has declined 30 percent over the past 50 years, a situation that "has contributed to a marked decline in enrollment from our peak of 373 students in 2001-2002 to just 111 this year."

The school teaches students from pre-kindergarden through eighth grade.

Diane Sparks, a resident of Pennsville, has two girls enrolled at Bishop Guilfoyle. She has also been a marketing volunteer for the past five years at the school.

"We've talked to several families that came to the open house and they were interested in Bishop Guilfoyle," said Sparks. "Other families that had left last year were also considering coming back to enroll their children."

Catholic schools have long been favored by Catholic families and non-Catholics who believed the education their children would receive would be superior to public schools. But with the closing of the schools parents are now forced to return their children to the public school system or travel a longer distances for Catholic schooling.

"That is the most upsetting thing," said Sparks on Wednesday. "I don't want to bus my child 50 minutes away to a Catholic school in Gloucester County. It's just not reasonable."

This severe under-enrollment has resulted in a reduction of tuition income, thereby placing upward pressure on tuition rates, which, in turn, has made it difficult to increase enrollment, especially during difficult economic times.

This has resulted in rising deficits, which will be nearly $400,000 this year, the Diocese says.

Right now at Bishop Guilfoyle parents are paying tuition rates of $3,600 for the first child enrolled and $2,800 for the second child, said Sparks.

If parents choose to transfer their children to another Catholic school, the Diocese of Camden will be offering $1,000 vouchers to help reduce tuition costs at a new school.

"We are exploring the possibility of having the tuition reimbursement honored at area Catholic schools outside of the Camden Diocese as well," said Andrew Walton, spokesman for the Diocese.

Jennifer Jones, whose daughter is enrolled at Bishop Guilfoyle feels the Diocese did not look deep enough for a solution to declining enrollment.

"I'm devastated and I'm not sure they did everything they could to keep Catholic education in Salem County," said Jones who serves as executive director of the Salem County Chamber of Commerce. "It seems to me there are a number of smaller buildings in the county that could of been optioned to keep the school open."

Walton directed those parents who wish to voice their concern about the closing to the school administration.

"I think that if parents have a particular concern they should certainly surface those concerns to the leadership of the school," said Walton. "If the school administration and sponsoring parishes believe the bishop doesn't have the information he needs, they will forward it to the Diocese for review."

As for the school's staff, the letter parents received said the Diocese would help place as many teachers from Bishop Guilfoyle as possible in other Catholic schools and for those it can't, it would offer "an assistance package" during their transition to other employment.

The fate of the building itself is unclear.

Some parent were taken aback by the sudden decision to close the doors of the last Catholic school in Salem County.

"Most of the talk going on at board meetings was the consolidation of Bishop Guilfoyle and Guardian Angels (Catholic school) in Paulsboro," said Bishop Guilfoyle PTA President Tom Hassler. "So it caught me off guard."

Hassler said they were looking to consolidate the school under a new name and use the Bishop Guilfoyle location.

Those not wanted to travel to Gloucester or Cumberland County have been looking to schools in the Wilmington Diocese in neighboring Delaware.

"From what I heard, schools in New Castle and Wilmington will apparently welcome us with open arms," said Hassler. "They are willing to work with us to provide some type of transportation, too."

Hassler also believes the Wilmington Diocese has a more educational sound system in place.

"The Wilmington Diocese is pro education," said Hassler. "Wilmington gets the school up and running before they add a church."

Bishop Guilfoyle's closing is the second major blow to Catholic education in the county in the past decade. It's been about 10 years since the Diocese closed St. James High School (which was located in the building now used by Bishop Guilfoyle) and St. Mary Regional School in Salem and St. James Elementary School in Penns Grove.

 The students from the two elementary schools, along with another Catholic elementary school in Gloucester County, were transferred to Bishop Guilfoyle.

The news of the school's closing comes at the same time the Diocese of Camden is consolidating neighborhood parishes in Salem County. That action has left many Catholics unhappy.

The Diocese of Camden, Hassler said, has written off Salem County.

"They are going to lose a whole new generation of Catholics," said Hassler. "It's spiraling down more than it already was."

Keep Wildwood Catholic HS Alive

For those of you left out there who think everybody's cool with the church and school closure fiasco, look again. The whole Wildwood Catholic thing has caused these feelings of disgust to erupt. Beware, the emotions are raw and the feelings strong. Here's just one example:

That article in the Star Herald made me sick! I wish the Star Herald had a Spout Off. So I just wrote one in the Cape May County Herald how I feel. It Read like this. I hope that Bishop Galante,Father Field And Wallace feel the pain of their hearts being ripped out before they die. Like the way they ripped the hearts out of so many children in Cape May County

Yes, people are angry. They are sickened with the corruption in high places, the lack of priestly support, and perhaps most of all that kids are being caught in the crossfire. I know as a parent, I have felt the same way at the prospect of not just my church, but theirs, a place they dearly love, is being threatened. As adults, taking something away from us that is due us is one thing, but taking it away from our kids is worse.

There is a family in our church with four foster children. In the words of their mother, "They have had everything taken away from them." They are such a nice family and the kids love to help out around the church cleaning, sorting, and organizing. To have yet one other thing, a beautiful and good thing that is their patrimony, taken from them in their young lives would be nothing less than a crime. All of the kids at St. Mary's love their church. They feel comfortable and cared for there. The fact that it is a small, tight community is no doubt part of that. It sounds like a lot of the kids at Wildwood Catholic feel similarly about their school. That is not always the case at schools, so the teachers there must be doing a pretty good job.

For the record, we get emails and verbal reports daily from people around the Diocese whose churches have merged and closed. It is simply not possible to post everything and every story we hear. Needless to say, they are not happy campers. Worst of all, many people's views of the priesthood have, sadly, deteriorated. They wonder why the priests they had come to love and respect have not spoken up about this travesty. They feel abandoned and confused, without leadership. Many wonder why their priests were taken from them and shipped abroad with the military or to Rome or to God only knows where. (We had another "missing priest" inquiry just yesterday. Sadly, we cannot help, we just shrug our shoulders and say a prayer.) They wonder why what they were taught about the Church growing up stands in such stark contrast to what they now see. Quote:

When I was a kid, we were told stories about martyrs who would die for their Faith. But now we have leaders--priests and lay people--who wouldn't even give their pension. On the one hand I don't blame them, but on the other, what's most important here? I always thought the priests would lead us along the right path. I don't know what to think anymore. I'm confused, disappointed.

Those who are content seem to be few and far between. It seems that mostly these people fall into one of three categories. There are those who are jockeying for paid "ministry" positions in the new merged "entities," there are the people whose churches are "stand alone" (so the most they see is overcrowding, which we also hear plenty of complaints about, which of course is all the more reason to demolish those churches and build megachurches), and there are the vast majority of people who are, sadly, nominal or "Sunday" Catholics.

That people cling to the Faith through all this will be nothing short of a miracle. Welcome to Galante's "Church of South Jersey." Will it still be the Bark of Peter when the audio visual equipment is installed, the tabernacle nowhere to be found, and all the dust settles?

• Because a church is a sacred, consecrated space. Churches are permanently consecrated. The one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church has always taught this, continues to teach this, and it has been a major point of difference and contention between protestants and Catholics. While mass can be held anywhere, ideally it should not be held just anywhere. That is why Catholics have churches. God deserves reverence and this is why a beautiful and lovingly created church is best suited to His worship in the highest form of prayer, the holy sacrifice of the mass.*

• Because we love our little community. For goodness sakes, that is reason enough! If "the Church is the people," as is the popular sentiment these days, then it does matter that when I look around the church, I know the people around me. It does matter that I can notice someone has been absent awhile and I can check on them to see if they are ok. If one has not been a member of a true and united community of Faith like this, it may be hard to understand why that community is such a treasure. This treasure should not be needlessly destroyed.

• Because small is wonderful!

• Because with the loss of churches come the loss of souls who are not as strong in the Faith or who are disillusioned by the corruption around them. These souls matter to Our Lord and should not be written off as unimportant. We need to try to help them and strengthen them in the Faith. We can only do that if our doors are open and if the churches they know, love, and are familiar with are still there. Because of this, when we close our church's doors, we often close off the last possibility that a soul will return to Holy Mother Church. Those who have already left the Church--and they are many--are no longer around to tell their stories.
  

• Because in struggling to hold on to our parish, we are hope and strength and justice to others who are not strong enough to speak up. We have been confirmed in this countless times.
  

• Because in the case of St. Mary's, we are truly an "intergenerational" community, which is something the Diocese sorely wants churches to try to be and is trying to implement in its "lifelong faith formation" program. We already are, so why destroy it only to try to rebuild something that approximates it?

• Because while we are happy to do things with others, a parish has a right to existence as stipulated by canon law. Wanting one's parish to remain as it is does not make one an "isolationist." It makes one content.

• Because our forefathers and mothers worked hard and sacrificed to give us the great gift of St. Mary's and we do not take this gift for granted.

• Because the church belongs to the people of the parish. They built and maintain it and it belongs to them.

• Because St. Mary's has been financially solvent and debt-free since 1922 and there is no reason it cannot continue to be. St. Mary's parishioners have always been very generous in donating, fundraising, and contributing their time and efforts to directly maintaining the parish. This is part of our culture.
  

• Because we are obligated, by virtue of our baptism and confirmation, to defend the church from error and attack, both from within and without. See Pope St. Pius X's encyclical against the modernists for more on this. It is not just St. Mary's and other churches that are under attack here, but the Faith itself. Purporting that our churches are "just buildings" is example enough. Look at the bishop's job positions, which include audio visual technicians whose job is to install and maintain screens and sound systems, as well as the inclusion of rock bands during mass. Visit any number of "modern" catholic churches which have had their tabernacles removed from a place of prominence on the altar. Look at how many times Bishop Galante has held up Gloucester County Community Church, an evangelical protestant church, as an example to be striven towards. We could go on. Which leads to the following point...

• Because we want to remain Catholic, and that includes holding on to our traditional churches.  

• Because St. Mary's has had and continues to have wonderful devotions available to all, including Eucharistic Adoration from Wed. morning through Friday evening every week. This is something not found at every parish.

• Because our CCD program is small, personal, affordable, our kids love it, and it is worth saving.

• Because we should not have to defend our right to exist, and no parish should.

• Because there has never been a saint who became holy by closing churches, only saints who became holy by erecting them.

• Because many priests, bishops, and even popes have been wrong in the history of the Church. We have an obligation to defend Her. Many saints have been redeemed in time. Saints Catherine of Siena, Joan of Arc, Teresa of Avila, Thomas More, and John Fisher (the only bishop to defend the Faith against evil Henry VIII), ora pro nobis!

• Because keeping open or closing a parish is not a "managerial" decision. Our Church is not a corporation and should not be run like one.
  

• Because we must obey Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the teachings of His Church first and foremost, not men.
  

* We have written extensively on this in the past so we will not include references and links here. If you would like them, search our site or the Catholic Encyclopedia online (newadvent.com). You may also refer to the Catechism of John Paul II, the Catechism of Pope St. Pius X, the Baltimore Catechism, canon law, the writings of the Fathers of the Church, countless papal encyclicals, and on and on. That the church is "just a building" is a protestant view, not a Catholic one. Now this heterodox view is expediently and shamefully used by the very men charged with defending our Faith and our churches and because they are in positions of authority, people trust them, listen, and believe them.

This quote from the eminently quotable C.S. Lewis, from his book Mere Christianity, is so appropriate for our Church today and our diocese in particular. In our case, the sense of Bishop Galante, Msgr. McGrath and others is that we must move "forward" and be "progressive." We must close up those stodgy old churches that are too "Catholicy" in favor of the new-fangled non-denominational megachurch model, with their big screens, fancy sound systems, new spiritual techniques, and hip new "ministries." Here's what Mr. Lewis has to say about those reluctant to look back on "old" ways that were not broken in the first place, and bullheaded insistence on false progress.

You may have felt you were ready to listen to me as long as you thought I had anything new to say; but if it turns out to be only religion, well, the world has tried that and you cannot put the clock back. If anyone is feeling that way I should like to say three things to him.

First, as to putting the clock back. Would you think I was joking if I said that you can put a clock back, and that if the clock is wrong it is often a very sensible thing to do? But I would rather get away from that whole idea of clocks. We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man. We have all seen this when doing arithmetic. When I have started a sum the wrong way, the sooner I admit this and go back and start over again, the faster I shall get on. There is nothing progressive about being pigheaded and refusing to admit a mistake. And I think that if you look at the present state of the world, it is pretty plain that humanity has been making some big mistakes. We are on the wrong road. And if that is so, we must go back. Going back is the quickest way on.

This is a continuation from Parts I & II.

An outcome of so much of the Vatican II fallout, says Davies, is that mass is no longer an experience of peaceful reverence for many Catholics, but instead "going to Mass has become a misery for them, they come away disturbed and distressed." For many it is a chore rather than a joy. Naturally many of us have witnessed this fact. Still worse, many thinking Catholics find themselves in situations in which they "quite reasonably wonder whether the sacraments they are receiving are valid." In retrospect, I wonder the same thing about some places I have visited.

Davies believes that we are living through a period in Catholic history not dissimilar to the time of St. Athanasius in which heresy--in our age, modernism--is rampant. Even the age old mass, now known as the Tridentine mass, was unjustly outlawed until our current pope, the Lord bless him, corrected and clarified this error in his Motu Proprio only a few years ago. And so we find ourselves at a crossroads in American Catholic history, a time in which tradition is roundly and summarily dismsissed, our "church buildings" not far behind.

Never before in the entire history of the Church has there been such an abrupt and violent breach with Tradition and established custom. We can say with St. Thomas: "It is absurd and a detestable shame that we should suffer those traditions to be changed which we have received from the fathers of old."

I believe that the forcible closing of our churches in favor of what can be reasonably looked upon as "the new church" both physically and spiritually may fall under the heading of "an absurd and detestable shame." The very structure of a traditional Catholic church is under attack. In a "traditional" Catholic church we all face forward, not in a circle or semi-circle so that we may stare at our "community" during "the liturgy" (even the term, "mass" is apparently, by many, considered a relic of the past). We have kneelers, holy water fonts, stations of the cross, and, typically, stained glass and other art that educates and illuminates the faithful, as well as many other things. Perhaps most importantly, the tabernacle containing Our Lord's precious body is front and center, where it should be, for the purpose of proper dignity and worship!

In the case of St. Mary's, we are also blessed with an altar rail which clearly delineates the space where the Holy Sacrifice takes place. In addition, the choir loft an organ are in the rear of church, where they belong. In a traditional Catholic church, the mass is not a show, therefore we need not see the musicians. The music is meant to elevate our souls to God, who comes to us body, blood, soul, and divinity via the priest who stands in persona christi.

To be continued in Part IV.

I admit that watching the show, "Little House on the Prairie" is one of my guilty pleasures. I've liked this show ever since I was a small child. While traveling across the country once, I accidentally (but happily) found myself following the same trail that the real Ingalls family once followed and visited one of the museums associated with the famous pioneer family. Now my husband and I are reading the book series aloud to our children, and this nicely coincides with a homeschooler class my son is taking entitled, "Westward Ho."

In any case, I think that one of the central attractive qualities of this series is the real life struggle between good and evil. While members of the Ingalls family do not always make the right choices initially, with the help of God and by strengthening each other, in the end they always chooses the side of right.

I was reading a quote from one of the writers of the show the other day. He was commenting on the episode, "The Bully Boys" (see last few minutes of episode and transcription below). In this episode a group of thugs threaten the way of life of the entire town. By the end of the episode, virtually the entire town has been abused in some way. The writer states that what makes this episode different from many is the fact that it is acknowledged that some people are essentially bad. The soft-spoken and Christ-like Reverend Alden sums up the sentiments of the writer in his sermon, which precipitates the driving of the thugs from the community.

The reason why I am bothering to share this with you is that I think we face a similar situation on a much broader scale here in our diocese. While some bullies stand outside a church or community, some appear to be a part of it. They wield their membership and, in some cases, their authority in abusive ways. They lie, threaten others, and may even steal what does not belong to them.

Unlike the villains in this Little House episode, there are some in leadership positions in our diocese and throughout the Church who are basically just thugs and bullies. Like the tv show bullies, they think nothing of pushing people and communities around. The common street criminals, the thieving corporate CEOs, the scheming Washington politicians, and certain corrupt Church officials have one thing in common: they are out for only themselves and do not consider the wellbeing and rights of others, much less the propagation of the Faith and the Gospel. They are career-oriented opportunists. Therefore it is imperative that we pray daily not only for ourselves and our parishes, but for the conversion of all Church leaders to Christ and His Church.

In a simple and straightforward way, this episode manages to relay a few very important truths:

1. Contrary to the modern world's popular opinion, good and evil exist. Good and evil are not subjectively determined. They are not matters of perception, but are objectively true.

2. In all of our lives, we have a choice to make. We must daily choose between good and evil, right and wrong, Jesus Christ and The Deceiver. Every day when we wake up in the morning, this is the choice that is before us. We must choose our side. This is called free will. However, we cannot be on the side of both Christ and The Evil One simultaneously. When we fall, when we have made a wrong decision and sinned, we confess it, we disown it, and we choose Christ's side again.

3. "Turning the other cheek" is indeed noble, but as demonstrated by Our Lord, does not automatically exclude the necessity of resisting the devil and "those who do his bidding."

4. A real community does not "stand alone against those who do the devil's work," but is unified by God in its insistence that evil be thwarted and right defended.*

Though the show depicts a protestant congregation, I think a valid fifth point may also be taken:

5. A pastor has an obligation to defend his flock from those who mean to harm it, from the attacks of the devil.

Transcription:

Rev. Alden: With your indulgence I would like to dispense with the hymn and go directly to my subject this morning: Heaven and hell. Sometimes we forget, in our contemplation of our reward in Heaven, that there even is a hell. But we might do well this morning to remember that hell has a purpose too. And the devil doesn't sit down there all by himself. Now I've told you that there's good in all people. But that doesn't mean that all people lead good lives. There are those who lie, who steal, who abuse those around them. Last week I told you that it was noble and courageous to turn the other cheek. Well, that's true, but this week one of you reminded me that there are times that the devil is in our midst; that no endurance, no nobility, will defend us against those who do his bidding.

Thug #1: Reverend, all that talk about the devil, you wouldn't be slurring me and my brothers, would ya?

Rev. Alden: More than that. It's strange that it took the children in this town to teach us the lesson: that we are a town, we're a community, we're a congregation. And no man should stand alone against those who do the devil's work.

Thug #2: What are you planning to do, preacher?

Rev. Alden: I intend to see you out of this church and out of this community.

Thug #2: Well that's pretty hard words but it looks like you're still standing pretty much alone.

[Reverend Alden and Isaiah Edwards slam the thugs against the wall.]

Rev. Alden: Am I?!

Thug #2: All right, all right, we'll be out of here by nightfall.

Rev. Alden: You'll go NOW. And you'll take only those things you brought with you. And maybe next time you'll think twice about taking advantage of good, decent people.

Thug #1: Tell him we'll do it, Sam, we'll do it.

Rev. Alden: [to Isaiah Edwards] Isaiah, your men can handle this?

Isaiah Edwards: Amen, Reverend!

Rev. Alden: [to Caroline Ingalls] Caroline, if you'll lead the ladies in a hymn, we'll be right back.

[Rev. Alden, Isaiah Edwards, and the men of the community march the thugs out of town. The congregation sings, "Onward Christian soldiers..."]


* St. John Chrysostom, On the Priesthood, Book II:

(Regarding pastors): ...but he who has human beings entrusted to him, the rational flock of Christ, incurs a penalty in the first place for the loss of the sheep, which goes beyond material things and touches his own life: and in the second place he has to carry on a far greater and more difficult contest. For he has not to contend with wolves, nor to dread robbers, nor to consider how he may avert pestilence from the flock. With whom then has he to fight? With whom has he to wrestle? Listen to the words of St. Paul: We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

(Regarding wolves in sheep's clothing): ....even should they capture the whole flock, they do not leave the shepherd unmolested, but attack him all the more, and wax bolder, ceasing not until they have either overthrown him, or have themselves been vanquished. Again, the afflictions of sheep are manifest...

We thought it would be a good time to remind people of the History section of the Save St. Mary's website. This history was written by a historian (an actual professional historian, now retired) and long time St. Mary's parishioner who now lives outside NJ.

It is interesting to note that we now live in a day and age where bigger is considered inherently better. One of the purposes of the destruction of our parishes and merger with others is that larger churches are considered by some to be superior. Why? Not sure. Our culture favors this model for most things these days, though, from stores to houses to cars. Churches are certainly not exempt. Part of it is human ego, we suppose. We can leave that to the sociologists.

In any case, historical perspective can lend a hand here. People tend to assume that once upon a time, there was a golden age of...fill in the blank. In the case of St. Mary's, there's the functioning assumption that once upon a time, St. Mary's was much larger. Well, that just isn't the case. Not really. St. Mary's has always been a tiny church and, when it became an actual parish, it became a tiny parish. I'll quote the history:

Completed in 1922, the new brick church could accommodate 150 worshipers.

If the people who built St. Mary's had needed a larger church, they would have built a larger church. And no, we cannot explain away its size by supposing there was more than one mass because there wasn't. Not until the 1950s was a second Sunday mass considered. The Saturday evening anticipated mass came even later.

Interestingly, the Bishop of Trenton (previous to the establishment of the Camden Diocese), Bishop Walsh,

voiced high praise for Monsignor James Bulfin, pastor of Sacred Heart...who directed the building of the church, and for the people of Malaga whose monetary sacrifices made it possible.

That was back at the opening mass in 1922, at which the bishop presided. Compare this to today's situation. We are now in a geographically smaller diocese with better transportation and an improved financial status. We have more parishioners today and more priests per capita, but our current bishop sees no need for St. Mary's or, for that matter, half the churches in the Diocese of Camden. Oh how far we have fallen in evangelical zeal!

St. Mary's didn't even have its own pastor or rectory until four decades later. So sharing a priest with another parish is nothing new to St. Mary's. In fact, it has been the case for about half its history, since it was a mission of Sacred Heart (Vineland) and then St. Rose of Lima (Newfield).

As for money, St. Mary's has always "lived" very frugally. Its less than affluent members sacrificed greatly to build the church and shortly thereafter experienced the Great Depression, the stress of which may have contributed to the death of its [shared] pastor, Fr. Jackson.

By the 1940s, St. Mary's had only about 100 families (compared to today's 250), although being farming families they were likely larger then the families most have today. Once the war and rationing were over, Fr. Naab (above), the pastor of St. Rose of Lima and St. Mary's, was able to obtain a car and visited every single family of St. Mary's. How many priests would do this today, even with better cars, better roads, lower gas mileage, and in a tiny parish?

It was also under Fr. Naab that our tiny parish commissioned its beautiful stained glass windows (right). Not shortsighted and despite the size of the parish, Fr. Naab knew how important a "church building," as so many refer to them today, is to a community. From the history:

Fr. Naab insisted on first-rate materials and workmanship. "The color in this glass will never fade," he said on numerous occasions.

In the 1950s a second mass was added and the church was enlarged. Yes, St. Mary's was once even smaller than it is today! In addition to enlarging the church, the organ and choir area were moved upstairs and a loft constructed. This added room for additional pews in the back.

In 1957 the land for the rectory was purchased, and finally in 1961 a third Sunday mass was added. (Saturday evening masses were unheard of previous to Vatican II.) This is also the year that St. Mary's became an independent parish (see photo top right). For almost a year, Fr. Zimmer, St. Mary's first pastor of its own, lived in the sacristy. And no, there was no bathroom in there just as there is no bathroom now. In spring 1962, the rectory was completed.

The religious education of its children was a primary and founding purpose of St. Mary's, but even in the 1980s, the all-time high of the CCD program peaked at only about 100 children. This year, even with the bishop's threat of closure hanging over our head and no nun volunteers as in the past (see photo above), we have around 60 students.

Our point? St. Mary's has never been big. It's always been small. We've shared priests and even had one live in the sacristy. Though our church has undergone many changes over the years, physically and otherwise, we must not fall into the trap of believing that because we are small today, we are somehow on a downward spiral. Nothing could be further from the truth.

What St. Mary's has that strengthens it is its small size! More people are always a welcome blessing, but a small parish enables us to know each other, and we like that. While some people may find larger parishes more to their liking, there ought to always be the option available to those who like a small church family. We're pretty uncomplicated at our church; we don't want anything big or fancy. We keep it simple at St. Mary's, and we think it's a blessing.

This is news from the summer. If anyone has updates please send them in. Here again, the Catholic faithful are being railroaded, steamrolled, and otherwise dispensed with. Shame.

Just another piece of information concerning the merger of Our Lady of Grace (Somerdale), St. Luke (Stratford), St. Lawrence (Lindenwold).

 

At a town meeting at OLG parish last Wednesday, our convenyer showed a map of the newly merged parish...a parishioner questioned why a big section of the current Our Lady of Graces parish was not included on the map in the new boundaries. This would be the Gloucester Township section (developments:  Broadmoor, Ballantree, Autumn Ridge, Somer Hill, Stonegate, Eyer's Place).  Our conveyner said These developments were not included in the merger even though they are currently in Our Lady of Grace parish and have been for years.

 

No one has yet to tell these families about this officially and which parish they are assigned. Though one priest unofficially did say that those developments on one side of Somerdale Road belongs to St. Theresa and the other side belongs to St. Agnes.

 

Not only were developments excluded from the merger but they even split which existing parishes they belong to - no parishioner was informed of this decision. 

 

Our conveyner did say anyone was welcome to join St. Lawrence (whoOLG, St Luke's are being merged with))

 

Again no communication at all form anyone about it.

-- an OLG parishioner

This Press of Atlantic City article says that

Parishes in Middle Township, Upper Township and Woodbine will not be merged, the Camden Diocese told its parishioners this week.

Bishop Joseph A. Galante informed members of St. Casimir's Roman Catholic Church in Woodbine and the Church of the Resurrection in Marmora that they would remain separate with their own priests. St. Elizabeth in Middle Township will continue to be served by St. Casimir.

But Galante encouraged the churches to work together and share resources.

Click above link to read the whole article. Coastal Broadcasting News also mentions the story.

Since it's well-known, at least among people in Vineland, that Bishop Galante has long wanted to close the historic and beautiful Sacred Heart (roughly the size of the cathedral in Camden), which outrages many (myself included since this is the church of my ancestors), this is no great surprise. In fact, it's the oldest trick in the book. One way of messing with a group's identity is to remove its long-standing leader. While Fr. Amabile's mother is apparently sick, (may the Lord bless her,) that seems a very convenient thing for the Galante administration.

What's still so surprising is that a native Vinelander, Msgr. John Burton, would continue to work with Galante in achieving this end. Shame! (One wonders, is it all about getting ahead and making brownie points?)

His departure would not affect Galante's plan to cut 124 parishes in the diocese down to 68, Walton said. Sacred Heart Parish and St. Isidore the Farmer Parish on Magnolia Road will merge under the plan, with St. Isidore assuming primary worship duties.

It seems to be most people's assumption that since St. Isidore's on Magnolia has so much land, Galante plans to use it to create his gigantic Vineland, evangelical protestant-style megachurch on that spot. But I suppose a traditional and beautiful Catholic church, no matter the size or history, does not serve the bishop's purposes.

(Below are maps of St. Isidore's on top and Sacred heart on the bottom. If you'd like to examine the maps more closely just click on them.)

View Larger Map


View Larger Map

Besides all that, closing Sacred Heart would rip the soul out of what is left of downtown Vineland. What a way to build "community" and help the less fortunate--to move the main Vineland parish to the burbs.

It would seem appropriate at this time to thank the Augustinian Order, in all seriousness and sincerity, for helping us in South Jersey by sending us priests for all these years. They have been a great blessing, and continue to to be, even, as Fr. Marty Smith referred to them, as "rent-a-priests" when parishes are in a pinch. We thank you!

The article is below. You may also read Daily Journal article by clicking here.

Sacred Heart pastor moving on to N.Y. post

By KRISTI FUNDERBURK • Staff Writer • August 11, 2009

Most of St. Mary's founders were immigrants from Europe, and virtually all of their native villages had a patron saint. On that saint's feast day, the pastor celebrated a High Mass, and his parishioners organized a parade to honor "their" saint. Afterward, a public gathering took place featuring music, games, food, and fireworks.

Because St. Mary's of Malaga was named for the Blessed Mother, the Feast of the Assumption became--and has been--the parish's main celebratory event since the church's beginning in 1922. Back then, Mr. Giovanni Di Matteo, one of the parish's founders, was the main organizer of this mid-August feast. These celebrations replicated, in Malaga, the fondly remembered festivals of the Old World.

Parishioners blessed with long years and clear memories can still recall the sight of the statue of the Blessed Mother--festooned with ribbons on which worshipers had pinned dollar bills--being hoisted onto the shoulders of young men for the parade after the High Mass on Sunday morning. They can recall the sound of the Red, White, and Blue Band as it marched behind the statue westward on Dutch Mill Road almost as far as Malaga Lake.


As the young men carrying the statue of the Blessed Mother approached the Malaga Post Office--then situated on the northwest corner of what is now Old Dutch Mill Road and Old Delsea Drive--Mr. Corval Richman, husband of Post Mistress Pearl Richman, descended the post office steps with a crisp dollar bill in his hand (a significant amount then) and pinned it on the statue. This gesture by a non-Catholic was an expression of the regard he had for the faith of his foreign born Catholic neighbors. (Quite a few non-Catholic donors are listed on the Founder's Roll that has hung on the rear wall of the church for the past 87 years.)


After Mr. Richman's gracious gesture, the parade turned left and proceded onto Delsea Drive as far south as the Simms residence or the Bova farm or the Cesare farm (traffic was no problem then) before returning.


As the paraders approached the church grounds, they were greeted by the enticing aroma of zeppole (cruller-like fried dough) and other delicacies being readied for the afternoon and evening festivities.


Volunteer barkers urged people to "step right up" and test their strength and skill at knocking over bogus milk bottles with a baseball. The white bottles, made of wood with metal interiors to impart stability, were arranged in a pyramid 30 feet behind a counter. "Three balls for a nickel," the barker cried, "and one of these beautiful prizes is yours!" (The prizes were mainly stuffed animals.)

Young Raynard Infante from New York City, a relative of several area families, impressed local people with his Neapolitan love songs, which he sang from the bandstand that once occupied the area where St. Mary's outdoor shrine now stands. Another favorite amateur singer was Mr. Giuseppe Alvino, one of the church's founders, who rendered "O Sole Mio" with a fervor old-timers still talk about.

After a respite from the mid-day parade, members of the Red, White, and Blue Band took their places on the bandstand and entertained the crowd during the afternoon and evening. The music consisted of popular melodies, including ragtime and patriotic songs, mostly Sousa marches. The band's electrifying "Stars and Stripes Forever" preluded the festival's finale: fireworks.

As band members put their instruments away, firework technicians sent up aerial bombs that exploded high above in a cascade of color. This lured the crowd to the southern edge of the church grounds, where the rectory now stands. From that point, one could see technicians igniting the fireworks mounted on wooden structures on the knoll where the Malaga firehouse is today. Ground-level fireworks, including spinning wheels and "Niagra Falls," alternated with aerial displays depicting patriotic themes such as the Statue of Liberty, the Mayflower, and the American flag.

The fireworks (and the two-day festival) ended at about eleven o'clock Sunday night with detonation of an ear-splitting battery of explosives buried two feet below the ground--enough to destroy a small army. With the acrid smell of explosives still hanging over the church grounds, those who came in their primitive farm trucks and tin lizzies honked their horns in appreciation while others tramped home humming the songs the Red, White and Blue Band had played.

...all they got was that crappy sign? And yikes, all they could come up with for a name was "Catholic Community of Christ Our Light?" Sounds like a new age temple. It's not even a "church," mind you, it's a "Catholic community." For goodness sakes, let me stick my finger down my throat right now. Someone please tell me, what in the world is suddenly wrong with the word "church?" And why are we replacing actual communities with concocted ones?

In any case, two pretty big churches in Cherry Hill, of all places, merge and all they can get for their first mass was 100 people? That's not exactly a rousing endorsement. Maybe people were put off by the lame sign.

The worst part of the article (link below) are, sadly, the quotes, from their new pastor:

"We stand after great visionaries who've come before us, and blazed a path."

Of course, the statement begs the questions, which visionaries? And where's your blazin' path headed?

I guess he tries to answer the questions by saying,

"The future is not some place we are going, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made." What the heck does that mean? If he's saying that there isn't a path to be found, one that does, in fact, already exist and was "blazed" by Our Lord and Savior, but only the one we make, I think the lot of them are headed someplace I'd prefer not to go.

It's pretty simple really. We don't need to go blazin' our own paths, because Our Lord said this:

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7:13-14

Yes, the good father, well intentioned I'm sure, seems to have contradicted Jesus' own words. Our Lord instructed us to FIND the path and to FOLLOW Him on it. In the very next chapter in Matthew, in fact, Jesus said, "Follow me." And not long after this, in Matthew 8:28-34, Jesus cast out demons and they entered instead into a herd of swine, which "rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the water." Guess those piggies blazed quite a path.



 Click here to read Star Herald piece.

Here are some recent comments in response to the article regarding the bishop's 1.5 million dollar luxury estate--oh wait, no, "convent"--in Pittsgrove. As a comment of our own, it has occurred to us that undoubtedly the diocesan administration must be exerting tremendous pressure on the poor sisters at this time, who must truly feel caught between satisfying the bishop's requests and fulfilling their vow of poverty, a promise they made to God. It is outrageous that the chancery would put out a statement supposedly made by Sr. Bernadette, while no one from the media has spoken directly to her, to the best of our knowledge. There is no way of verifying that she actually said what they claim she did. Press Comments: Is Andrew Walton coming unwound? His comments are hysterical, not to mention completely contradictory. He's another way our diocese is wasting money. I wonder how much he's getting paid for his "services." Posted by: hahaha on Sun Mar 15, 2009, 11:28 PM

	How much money does Andrew Walton make that he thinks an $800,000 house is a 'modest' living arrangement? Posted by: elaine on Sun Mar 15, 2009, 11:38 PM

	Not to be mean but with all the church and school closings recently and more in the future, why do they need new nuns? What are they going to do? Posted by: theFlyingNun on Mon Mar 16, 2009, 2:32 AM

	wake up parishoners! YOU'VE BEEN DUPED!! welcome to CAMP ALTAR BOY!!! Posted by: no sin no win on Mon Mar 16, 2009, 3:58 AM

	Ahhhhhhhh...haters and cafeteria Catholics. Some things you can just go to sleep on. Posted by: Truth on Mon Mar 16, 2009, 5:13 AM

	Isn't this awful when the diocese closes St Nicholas School in Egg Harbor City and wants to shut St Nick's church! This is an outrage!!!!! Posted by: MaysLandingJane on Mon Mar 16, 2009, 6:14 AM

	As with any charity...most donated funds go to administrative costs...I am sure the 'Bishops Annual Appeal' needed a new headquarters to operate from... counting your gold in a lavish country estate seems Medival in a way Posted by: mikeyd__ on Mon Mar 16, 2009, 6:18 AM

	simple math: $8 million divided by 5 nuns = $1.6 million per nun. talk about HIGH MAINTENANCE BABES!!! Posted by: collection plate - not! on Mon Mar 16, 2009, 8:21 AM

	This purchase gives a whole new meaning to "House of Charity". But seriously, why should I give a dime? They clearly don't need my hard earned money. Posted by: Maria on Mon Mar 16, 2009, 8:30 AM

	from Kenyan grass hut to upscale rural estate. nice career move girls! ps: but do they know how use the wet bar and ice maker? Posted by: papist scam on Mon Mar 16, 2009, 8:31 AM

If you had a bunch of people giving you money every week wouldnt you spend it...They havn't spent it properly in a long time. I went to Rome on vacation a few years ago and I am getting on the plane walking to my coach seat and what do I see a priest sitting in first class. I know when I searched to purchase those seats were like $15k round trip...I have not given a dime to the church since I saw that Posted by: scam on Mon Mar 16, 2009, 8:41 AM

Why does this come as a shock to anyone? The Catholic Church is one of the wealthiest entities on the planet! They preach poverty yet acquire lavish property, jewels and artwork all the time. The vatican houses some of the most precious artworks of all time. They are not strapped for cash and never have been. They are considered to be among the larges private land holders in the world, and are estimated to have billions of dollars in banks and stocks around the world. It is one of the biggest businesses on earth. In his newest list of sins that will send you to "you know where," the pope has included accumulating vast wealth, but the Church has been doing that every day since its inception. Interesting, isn't it? And sorry, but it's not 8 million dollars, it's 800 thousand dollars. Guess the math wasn't so simple for the brain trust who thought he'd make a point. Too funny. Posted by: Really? on Mon Mar 16, 2009, 8:55 AM

	Okay, everyone get your Catholic-bashing out of your system. Just remember when you are done, that Catholics are a very devout group of people. Unfortunately, their leadership is self-serving...just like our politicians. Ever notice that no matter what the group, power corrupts? Posted by: njstorm on Mon Mar 16, 2009, 9:12 AM

	"Spirit of poverty" while living in a $1.5 million dollar home? That's kind of like saying the Bishop has a "Spirit of fasting." Greed, corruption, lies - all from the Catholic heirarchy - it is disheartening to say the least. Bishop Gallante should resign. Posted by: outraged in ocean city on Mon Mar 16, 2009, 9:32 AM

	The church is big business. The road to heaven is paved with good intentions now send me the dollars. Posted by: executioner1 on Mon Mar 16, 2009, 9:38 AM

	I am somewhat familiar with the situation, and can tell you that the sisters are not at all comfortable with the sitaution. This was all Gallante. Posted by: maverick on Mon Mar 16, 2009, 9:39 AM

If someone wants to know the excess of the hierarchy of the Catholic church in our Diocese, as well as in Philadelphia's, look at the ownership of several beachfront homes in Ventnor ... just a block from where St. James R.C. Church and school faced closings. And not begrudging just the beachfront property, but the excessive nature INSIDE those homes (yes, I have seen it firsthand). When the Diocese decided to close St. Augustine School in Ocean City, knowing full well prior to their decision that those students did NOT have another school that could take them, I knew I had given the Diocese my last time. I think Catholics in this Diocese need to express their displeasure in the only way the Diocese and the Bishop understand ... financially. That is what bought several churches at least temporary reprieves already. The religion and the faith of Catholics are strong (and yes I am one) ... its the leadership - the human element - that is flawed. Posted by: truth not rhetoric on Mon Mar 16, 2009, 9:46 AM

	There are way tooooo many empty Convents throughout the state to allow this to happen. The house should have been sold or rented for a lot of money. The Nuns are very nice people who deserve whatever they get however there are many many empty houses in this and other states for them to live in for free. Posted by: Empty nests' on Mon Mar 16, 2009, 10:02 AM

OK...so here we are with hundreds of billions of OUR dollars going out to greedy banks and business men to "save" them all. This is all OUR money and will cost us and our children for decades to come. I have a great idea. this will eliminate the current billions in debt and settle the national debt. If we just tax the Catholic church on its real estate holding in the U.S. we will raise enough cash to cancel out all the problems. All of the faithful can then empty there wallets into a brass plate on Sunday to help the churches pay there tax bills. Now the church will really now what poverty is like. We pay our tax bills every year now it is there turn. Just look around town next time you take a drive. no matter what town you live in the churches own the nicest land and the nicest homes in the nicest sections of town. Then go home and look at your home and your tax bill and just do some math and you will get an idea of the value of some of this land and structures. Posted by: njscanner on Mon Mar 16, 2009, 10:03 AM

	I am outraged by this article. There are devote Catholics who tried their best in preventing the merger from happening last year. They even poured in money from their personal savings. In return, we here about a eight-hundred thousand dollar convent. Posted by: Listen here on Mon Mar 16, 2009, 10:29 AM

This is appalling! There are many, many underused convents in the diocese. The diocese has a retreat center in Blackwood and to believe we would trust they're purchase of this property as a 'future retreat center' is ridiculous. What is it with this bishop, he comes across like the leaders of the financial institution we have bailed out. Totally out of touch with his pariashioners, he is getting bad advice from those around him They should reverse this purchase and sell this property. Posted by: uneasy catholic on Mon Mar 16, 2009, 10:44 AM

Talk about irresponsible actions. We were advised that the Bishop has increased the amount of money he wants to renovate the kitchen in the new, dynamic, vibrant elementary school in Clayton to the tune of $200,000 dollars. Andy Walton tried to justify the spending by saying the price was dropped from $1.5 million to $800,000 dollars. What he failed to mention was that the home was on the market for a year and when the recession/depression hit, it couldn't sell for the original listing price. So the "good catholic family took their money and moved south. How about the $1.7 million dollars for the sale of St. Bridget's school that went toward reducing the debt of that parish rather than helping to support the new elementary school in Clayton. There are too many instances of flagrant misuse of monies by the CEO of the Camden diocese and his constituents to print here. I wonder if they would agree to an audit of how they are spending their monies and make it an open report to the parishioners whose money they are spending. Sounds similar to the AIG scandalous use of taxpayers money with the backing of the government. We are being told by Bishop Galante that he is concerned about the number of Catholics leaving the church, well I suggest he look in the mirror to see how he is a major reason why this is happening. Posted by: mazz on Mon Mar 16, 2009, 10:58 AM

Today's AC Press has an excellent article about the Diocese of Camden's recent purchase of the $800,000 luxury home in Pittsgrove.  Click here to see the full article. (A similar article can also be found in the well known publication Newsday.) The article was so well-written, excerpts really do not do it justice, but here are a few quotes from Diocesan spinmaster Andy Walton for your entertainment:

But some local Catholics have made much of the description of the new property: Advertised as a "lavish 5-6 bedroom home 11-acre country estate" when it was sold last July, the place boasts riding stables, an elegant fountain in the driveway and a feature described as a "wet bar" inside.

Andrew Walton, spokesman for the diocese, defended the choice of location and style of property for the new convent. "It suits the needs of the sisters, who are looking to expand the order," he said.

He also added that by taking up the new home, the sisters were not going against their vows.

"A vow of poverty has much less to do with where you live than how you live. It's about modest living, but also a poverty of spirit.

"I think there's an undertone of nastiness to some of the commentary, that these sisters' modest living arrangements should come under criticism. There's even that suggestion that, because they're from Kenya, that these arrangements are too good for them."

Andy Walton seems a little defensive - OK, a LOT defensive, even using the race card to try to divert attention from the real issue.  Well, I guess it must be frustrating for him that he cannot clamp down on the AC Press like he does on the Courier-Post (although we know he has tried)! 

Of course, one of the commenters to the article asked how much money Andy Walton makes that he considers an $800,000 home "modest living."  Good question! They could've bought the house I live in for the sisters--five of them, one for each, in fact--and spent the same amount of money. But of course, we have no fountain, wet bar, or stables. Heck, our garage doors don't even work.

Perhaps the most obvious clue to the continual dishonesty coming from the Chancery Offices is this piece of information:

A neighbor, John Langley lives opposite the property. His ancestors, who named the road, used to own most of the area. "Around December, I saw people from the diocese on the property," he recalled. "They said they had come to check it out, and that it might be a residence for the bishop."

Andy suggests that the property will be used in the future as a retreat for the diocese so we, the diocesan faithful, can be continually "formed." Surely it will be the fanciest retreat center we'll have ever been to, but we look forward to experiencing spiritual poverty. It will be so convenient that the new "retreat center" is only a short ride (3.5 miles, to be precise) from St. Mary's. We eagerly anticipate prayer while on horseback and cooling off in the fountain. Who will be tending bar? Pour me one of these.

$800,000 EXECUTIVE HOME PURCHASED BY DIOCESE
by Cindy Merckx  

The Sisters of Mary Immaculate Nyeri Convent in Elmer will soon be moving into a beautiful new home in neighboring Pittsgrove Township. The dedicated religious order of sisters is appreciated by many in the community because they take care of the elderly residents at Mater Dei Nursing Home that is located on Route 40, just west of Franklin Township. The Diocese of Camden recently surprised the Sisters with the news of the purchase of a convent.

"We were very surprised," said Sister Bernadette. "We are very happy that  they decided to give it to us." The five sisters have been taking care of the patients of the nursing home and take a vow of poverty like most religious orders. They are not used to extravagant living and they presently live together in a small home in Elmer that has three bedrooms. "It's God's Blessing!" said Sister.

The spacious executive home that was purchased last year by the Diocese for future use as a convent or retreat house.

The property is located at 425 Langley Road in Pittsgrove Township, just off Porchtown Road and was listed by the real estate agent as: "enticingly elegant is this lavish 5-6 bedroom, 11 acre country estate. The white fence surrounds this custom built brick cape home that includes a grand entrance foyer, living/great room with fireplace, dining room, game room with wet bar and sun room. It has fabulous grounds that include a circular driveway with fountain and 3 car attached garage/2 car detached garage and a rear patio. The property has a six stall barn with three run in areas for horses."

On July 22, 2008, the Diocese purchased the property for $800,000. It has been vacant for a year and residents that were interviewed stated they have been concerned as to the status of the property.

According to records obtained at Pittsgrove Township Tax Offices, the property taxes are paid and up-to-date. In 2008 the property taxes for the year were $20,507. The property is listed as QFARM in its assessment. The Diocese has not yet filed an application to change the status of the farm to a convent or other type of institutional classification according to Pittsgrove Township's planning board secretary, yet Walton commented that the tax status of the property was in the process of being changed to 'tax exempt' because it will be used as a convent for the sisters.

Walton was asked why the Diocese decided to by such an expensive home when many parishes are closing and in financial stress.

"The five sisters presently live in a small three bedroom home in Elmer," said Walton. "They will be moving in soon and some furniture has been delivered. The property was offered to the Diocese at a substantial savings and we felt the grounds are an appropriate setting that could be used for a future retreat." *

The future convent is located between the neighboring parishes of St. Ann's in Elmer and St. Mary's of Malaga that are to be either closed or merged.** Parishioners from both parishes expressed concerns when interviewed about the purchase of the property. Some stated that they have questions regarding the Diocese's reasoning behind buying an expensive home for Sisters who take a vow of poverty with many suitable properties for sale in the area at a lower cost.

News reports last year about Bishop Galante selling his shore home to an Italian businessman, Raffaello Follieri, who was accused of scamming real estate investors to purchase Catholic Curch properties, led to rumored talk of the expensive purchase made by the Diocese on this executive property. The Bishop sold his North Wildwood four bedroom townhouse [to Folliri] last year for $400,000. In June 2008, Follieri was jailed on federal fraud and money laudering charges. He was charged with posing as a representative of the Vatican to buy Roman Catholic Church property.

With Diocesan officials deciding to reduce the number of parishes in the Camden Diocese from 124 to 66 in the next few years it will mean that 58 parishes and 24 church buildings will no longer be used for worship.

Parishioners wonder if their Church will be closed and what the future holds for the Catholic Church and its schools. The process of merging parishes has left several parishes staging protests at locations where Bishop Joseph Galante is present. One of the more vocal churches protesting the closing of Churches has been St. Mary's of Malaga, that has been a historical landmark in Franklin Township for over 80 years. The Pastor, Father Jerome Romanowski, has been vocal to oppose the plans to close churches in the Diocese. He was notified last week that he had been transferred by the Bishop to Atlantic City. Romanowski has decided that he will retire.

Several parishioners described the merging effort as tearing the hearts of many of the older parishioners who were instrumental in building the Church.

Diocesan spokesman Andrew Walton explained the reasoning for the decision to merge parishes and stated that by the year 2015 there will only be about 85 priests to serve 124 parishes.

:Every parish is used to having at least one priest serve the parish," said Walton, who stated that the diocese sees these types of protests as 'expected' because of the love the parishioners have for their Church building.***

Walton commented that the number of practicing Catholics has dropped from what it was at 74% in 1960 to 25%. "You have to do something," said Walton. "There are several misconceptions that are out there."

Walton explained that 41 parishes in the diocese can not pay their bills and utilities every month. He stated that this amounts to over 11 million dollars in debt and they can not pay it back.

"One of the misconceptions is when people say that we are trying to sell our properties for profit," Walton said. "All of the property belongs to the parishes. We have no rights to them. All of the assets of the parish leave when yu merge parishes, and none have merged yet." ****

   Editor's Comments/Notes  

* OH MY GOSH! The stuff this guy doesn't come up with, huh?! It's almost entertaining to read. What a creative mind. Andy, Andy, he's our man! If he can't spin it, no one can!

** Just for the record, we will be closed over our dead bodies (so to speak).

*** Of course, Walton is wrong on at least two counts here. St. Mary's and many other area churches that began as missions shared a priest with at least one other church for much of their histories.Returning to a shared-priest scenario would be acceptable to most Catholics. Second, you don't see the Diocese encouraging new vocations, and in fact they seem to be suppressing and discouraging existing priestly vocations by removing priests from the diocese by the dozen on various pretexts. Third, people love The Church, as in, the Bark of Peter, and their Houses of the Lord Jesus are not just buildings. This is heresy. It is Protestantism. Additionally, we must always remember every number spouted by Walton must be questioned as they are usually misleading.

****We have already shown that the "property belongs to the parish" statement often used by the diocese is basically untrue. Read about it here.

An article in today's Gloucester County Times profiles Bishop Galante's as yet unoccupied "McRanchon," as some have called it.  The article also ran in today's Salem County Sunbeam and in today's Bridgeton News. Supposedly this estate was purchased for five religious sisters, but it's been empty for quite some time. Quote:

"Given the need of the sisters and given the fact that the property was being offered to the diocese at such a substantial discount, we've purchased the property for the religious sisters," [diocesan spokesman] Walton said.

But the Council of Parishes of Southern New Jersey, a grass-roots parish organization, said the sisters moving into the house is a knee-jerk reaction on the part of the Diocese of Camden and that it was not its original, intended use.

"We don't believe it," said Leah Vassallo, co-chair of the Council of Parishes. "First of all, it makes no sense. Why should nuns live in what is described as a lavish country estate? It's completely contradictory to what the nuns mission and purpose is." ....

"There's a huge difference between a five-bedroom house and an $800,000 house," Vassallo said.

As you may remember, we covered this back in December here on Savestmarys: Click here to read our expose.

Additionally, The Sentinel of Gloucester County published an article entitled "$800,000 Executive Home Purchased by Diocese" (see next blog article). You'll notice that Andy Walton, spokesman for the Galante Administration, claims that the house was intended for a very small group of religious sisters. Well then why has the diocese let it sit vacant for the better part of a year? And what sisters who've presumably taken a vow of poverty would want or need such a lavish house? Is this one of the "charitable works" that the Bishop's Annual Appeal goes to fund? My own family of four lives in a small post-war house with three very small bedrooms and practically non-existent closets. We're very happy here, but we have taken no vow of poverty. Perhaps we ought to join a religious order and upgrade our lifestyle.

Needless to say, most have long assumed that estate was not originally purchased with the sisters in mind, but for Bishop Galante, possibly for his retirement. But since the Follieri Scandal, which broke July 15th, 2008, exactly one week before the Diocese bought this estate, all eyes have been focused on the various residences of the bishop. So it seems that now they have to move the sisters into the estate home to make it look legit. Or at least, that's the way it appears to most observers we've spoken to about it.

The estate is located here (see map below). As you can see, St. Mary's Malaga is remarkably close by.


View Larger Map

Here is a photo of the stable/horse barn. Who knew the sisters rode horses in their spare time? Perhaps they are one of those obscure equestrian orders.
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Massive turnout last night at St. Nicholas Parish meeting:

EGG HARBOR CITY- ...about 140 parishioners of St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church attended a meeting Tuesday night at the Knights of Columbus Hall with hopes of saving their parish.

Read Press of Atlantic City article here

See NJ Churchscape brief piece on historic St. Nick's here.


Overall an excellent job by Rob Spahr, Press writer, with the exception of this misleading information (emphasis ours):

intentions...to cut the number of parishes in the Camden Diocese nearly in half after years of fact finding, analysis and public discussion sessions uncovered a pressing need for downsizing.

Let it be clear: no scientifically reliable facts were found, nor were voices of the faithful listened to in their "years of...public discussions." No one said, "Gee let's close our church because we're not 'vibrant' enough." We only wish the truth about Bishop Galante's wheelings and dealings would be more well known by reminding the public, "After the merger announcement Bishop Galante was found to be financially involved with con artist Raffaello Follieri, now serving a prison sentence, as well as other real estate schemes. Many in the diocese question the true motives for the merger scheme..."

Additionally, too much space was given to Andy Walton, diocesan spinner, umm, I mean "PR guy." Who speaks for the faithful of the diocese? It is sad when a bishop has vested interests for which he must hire a public relations man from outside the state appear less insidious. Isn't that just like a politician? And besides, what ever happened to letting your yea be yea and your no, no? Shouldn't the words of any Christian, particularly a bishop, be clear as crystal and not so vague as to warrant wide interpretation? "Enter ye at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat." (So just in case any of you were in doubt about where St. Mary's and the Council of Parishes stand on the Galante-Vollmer Merge & Close agenda, we're against it.)
 
Nevertheless the Press coverage is laudable and we were very happy to see them cover a topic so dear to so many in South Jersey. We were glad to see the Press reveal the true origin of Galante's "priest shortage," namely, himself. Quote:

The parish already has lost its catechism classes and its resident priest was not replaced after he left in June to serve as an Army chaplain in Europe. It was unclear who will take over once the merger is complete.

Sadly, St. Nick's is far from the only priest in the diocese sent off by Galante to the military chaplaincy in the last year.

And of course, St. Nick's is yet another historic NJ church built with the blood, sweat, tears, and hard-earned money of its parishioners over the years, may they rest in peace!

"It's like losing a part of the family," Terri Cantz, 57, of Egg Harbor City, said of the parish being stripped of services. "My ancestors literally laid the bricks that helped build St. Nicholas and my grandchildren were the fifth generation from my family to attend the St. Nicholas school. This parish is a piece of our upbringing, it's a piece of our character and it deserves to stay here."

Like other parishes reconfiguration schemes in the diocese (Bridgeton, Vineland, etc.), Bishop Galante wishes to promote a segregation scheme at St. Nicholas. It is a shame that in this day and age, a bishop would promote the segregation of large numbers of our Spanish speaking brothers and sisters in Christ. Meanwhile, folks at St. Nick's are not only fighting to keep their parish open, but to remain integrated. Said Jim McGeary,

And the Hispanic parishioners who attend St. Nick's will not be able to maintain the (necessary attendance levels) on their own. You need everyone.

That's the bottom line, isn't it? We are the body of Christ, and in the body, you cannot exclude one part from the other. We need each other.

The will of God is what needs to be heeded at all times. The question remains in our minds, does Bishop Galante care what God wants? We are one body, and the church segregation plans tend to unnecessarily divide us.

But all these things one and the same Spirit worketh, dividing to every one according as he will. For as the body is one, and hath many members; and all the members of the body, whereas they are many, yet are one body, so also is Christ. For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether bond or free; and in one Spirit we have all been made to drink. For the body also is not one member, but many. If the foot should say, because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were the eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God hath set the members every one of them in the body as it hath pleased him. And if they all were one member, where would be the body? But now there are many members indeed, yet one body...God hath tempered the body together, giving to that which wanted the more abundant honour, That there might be no schism in the body; but the members might be mutually careful one for another. And if one member suffer any thing, all the members suffer with it; or if one member glory, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members of member. 1Corinthians 12:11-27

And he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and other some evangelists, and other some pastors and doctors, For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Until we all meet into the unity of faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the age of the fulness of Christ; That henceforth we be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the wickedness of men, by cunning craftiness, by which they lie in wait to deceive. But doing the truth in charity, we may in all things grow up in him who is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body, being compacted and fitly joined together, by what every joint supplieth, according to the operation in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body, unto the edifying of itself in charity. (Ephesians 4:11-16)

May God richly bless St. Nick's for their faithfulness to God and their perseverance in the Truth. May none of us be fooled by the "cunning craftiness" of the devil.